Golf Monthly releases its 2012 ranking of the Top 100 golf courses in the British Isles

14 Nov 2012

Golf Monthly Magazine in the United Kingdom has released its 2012 ranking of the Top 100 golf courses in the British Isles. The list follows hot on the heels of the Golf World debacle, where the unopened Trump International Scotland course was ranked 8th in the UK/Ireland and ahead of Royal Dornoch and Carnoustie. While Golf Monthly’s ranking seems more respectable on the surface, there remain a number of curiosities such as Royal Lytham (7) ahead of Royal Dornoch (9) and Waterville (11) ahead of both Royal Portrush (12) and Ballybunion (13). Ranking Old Head (33) above Swinley Forest (34) also fails the common sense test.

The omission of Donald Trump’s brand new creation in Aberdeen presumably allows more raters on the panel to view the course and make their judgments, and prevents the sort of furious back peddling we are likely to see from Golf World in the coming years.

Our nominations for the most over-rated courses are Royal Lytham (7) and Waterville (11), both very fine links but surely a dozen or more places too high on a list like this. On the flip side, the rankings of Royal Dornoch (9), Lahinch (23), Swinley Forest (34), Prestwick (43), Rye (61), Cruden Bay (89), Carne (96) and Woking (99) were among those that left us scratching our heads.